Berkeley’s Sociology Department is known around the world for its excellence in research and teaching. Our faculty advance cutting edge research and teach in most sociological specialities. Our PhDs are leaders in universities and research centers across the US and in many other countries. And our BAs populate the ranks of innumerable professions, bringing with them the skills and special perspective of Berkeley sociology.
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For the past six decades, Berkeley’s Sociology Department has consistently been ranked among the world’s top sociology departments. Our graduate program is ranked #1 in the latest U.S. News and World Report, and our undergrad degree is currently the best in the US according to College Factual and features on Grad Reports’ Best College List 2020.
Prof. Einstein served graduate students as a model of prudence in remaining unfashionably true to the grand…
State and Society in the Taiwan Miracle
Translated into Chinese and Japanese.
Departmental Colloquium Series
Rashawn Ray, "Rotten Trees: Racism and Bad Apples in American Policing"
Monday, November 17th, 2025 at 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Blumer Room - 402 Social Sciences Building and via zoom
Abstract:
George Floyd’s death significantly shifted public opinion as 76% of Americans (including 71% of Whites) agreed that incidents such as the killing of Floyd are signs of racism within law enforcement. This racial awakening and acknowledgement of racism is further confirmed by police brutality inflicted onto protestors and highlighted in the killings of Breonna Taylor and Duante Wright. While the public outcry often includes the views of the general public, missing, especially in the academic literature, are police officers themselves as well as a proper evaluation of use of force and proposed reforms (such as defund the police). Over the past several years, Ray, along with colleagues in The Lab for Applied Social Science Research, collected interview, survey, social media, and virtual reality data with police officers, activists, and civilians. He has also built state- and city-level databases on police reform legislation. Collectively, his findings show how “structural implicit bias” contributes to racial disparities in policing vis-à-vis the organizational embeddedness of racism within the origins and functions of law enforcement. Ray’s research indicates that police reforms focused on implicit bias trainings and body-worn cameras fall short because they do not address how the structural, cultural, and organizational components of policing obstruct accountability and contribute to over-policing, racial profiling, and racial disparities in policing killings. Ray posits that a series of evidence-based policy prescriptions that focus on reallocating and shifting funding within police department budgets along with innovative trainings using virtual reality technology and wellness programs for officers can help transform policing in America.